Florida one of 10 winners for Race to the Top grant

Florida is one of 10 winners in the second round of the federal Race to the Top grant competition, likely securing $700 million that will be used in part to develop merit-pay plans for teachers.

State school districts that signed Florida's Race to the Top application — 65 of 67, including all in Central Florida — now have 90 days to work out preliminary plans with their unions. They must eventually develop systems that base at least half a teacher's evaluation on their students' growth on tests.

"A lot of work is next," said Education Commissioner Eric Smith, hours after learning Florida was one of nine states and the District of Columbia on the winner's list.

"This celebration is just the beginning," he said, adding he was "very, very thrilled" with Florida's success.

The state was considered a strong contender to win in the first round of the historic, education-reform contest. But it placed fourth — and out of the money — when the two winners, Delaware and Tennessee, were announced in March.

Florida placed fourth in the second round, too, behind Massachusetts, New York and Hawaii, the U.S. Department of Education announced today. But this time fourth place means a share of the $3.4 billion education fund.

The state likely will get about $700 million over four years, half of which it will share with participating school districts. In Central Florida, districts could get from about $4 million in Lake County to almost $24 million in Orange County.

Orange Superintendent Ron Blocker said the money would "not solve our economic woes" but would help pay for reform efforts that could not be accomplished otherwise.

Working out new evaluation and pay systems will not be easy, but Blocker said he was optimistic and eager to get teacher input as that effort begins.

"I'm not going to have any conversations….without involving teachers," he added.

Smith and others credited collaboration among Florida educators, state leaders, and teachers unions — conspicuously absent during the first round — for the state's win today.

With its grant money, Florida has promised to accelerate its past reform efforts. Its three main plans are to: boost the number of students graduating from high school and then earning college credit; cut the achievement gap between white and minority students; and improve the state's performance on national achievement tests.

Florida's application says its key "theory of reform" is the need for "highly effective teachers" — and it will get them by changing the "culture" of the teaching profession. In short, Florida plans to overhaul how teachers are paid, evaluated and promoted, using student achievement on tests, in part, to measure teacher success.

Florida's plans align with the Obama administration's education goals. But they are controversial, mostly because they involve devising merit-pay plans for teachers.

The Race to the Top competition, funded through the economic recovery act Congress approved last year, "has been a catalyst for education reform all around the country," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

The department would have funded more than 10 applications but ran out of money, Duncan said, adding he hopes Congress will add funds to the program in coming years.

Florida leaders should be "very, very proud" of their winning application, Duncan said, adding the state won both because of its strong record of education reform and its commitment to making significant changes in coming years.

"Florida just put together a fantastic application," he said.

Gov. Charlie Crist called Florida's win a "great victory," adding that "Florida will put this money to the best possible use — building a better future for the children of our state."

Florida was one of 19 finalists named in July. Earlier this month, Crist and top educators traveled to Washington, D.C., to present the state's application to grant reviewers.

Andy Ford, the president of the Florida Education Association, said he was "heartened" by Florida's win and convinced it came because the second-round application was devised with help from the union. The association approved the plan and urged local unions to sign on. Fifty-four did, compared with five in the first round.

Ford had blasted the first-round plan, with its heavy reliance on test scores to judge teachers, as "fatally flawed." And Florida lost in the first round partly because grant reviewers noted it did not have a lot of "stakeholder support," particularly from its unions.

State lawmakers then passed a merit-pay law, arguing it would strengthen Florida's second Race to the Top application. But Crist vetoed the controversial measure that had teachers up in arms.

The governor then pulled together a group of educators, lawmakers and union leaders to rework the state's grant plans. The group left much of the overall plan untouched but reworked the area on teacher pay.